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Tue, 31 Mar 2015 14:34:07 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.1Black Diamond: Why American aerials globes are truly on top this yearhttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/black-diamond-why-american-aerials-globes-are-truly-on-top-this-year/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/black-diamond-why-american-aerials-globes-are-truly-on-top-this-year/#commentsTue, 17 Mar 2015 17:14:51 +0000http://www.skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=35474For the first time in history, the U.S. has won both men’s and women’s globes in aerials this season. While thrilling, the victories are made even more so by the routes that took the athletes to the top.

It all began with some forward thinking seven years ago. Two ideas emerged: first, to look for gymnasts who can be taught to ski, copying an already a successful concept the Chinese have practiced successfully during the past 15 years. The second was the creation of a program to provide both a high school education and a competent coaching program, all at a facility built for aerial training.

Enter two kids from the shores of Long Island Sound — Madison, Conn., hardly a hotbed for skiers. True, they were skiers who spent weekends with their families in Vermont. (Both athletes tried alpine racing but it didn’t take.)

Mac Bohonnon took up freestyle in the footsteps of his older brother. He was invited an elite camp in Lake Placid, where he was spotted and then recruited to join the aerial team. His childhood friend and former schoolmate, Kiley McKinnon, a soccer player and a gymnast, responded to impassioned Facebook post from Mac about aerials. The concept infatuated her. She hooked her parents by venturing to Lake Placid and convincing them aerials were for her. The rest of the story is in the record books.

The key to this noteworthy success is USSA program that combines locating athletes, some of whom are gymnasts, and providing them not only great training but education, as well.

For a specialty sport such as aerials, this type of developmental path provides perhaps the only route to success in today’s highly competitive discipline. As an add-on to the aerial elite program, USSA has launched a $3 million improvement fund to update the facilities in Park City. USSA has also continued its relationship with Westminster College, allowing Bohonnon and McKinnon an almost expense-free opportunity for a degree.

Congratulations to both Mac Bohonnon and Kylie McKinnon for their victories, and kudos to USSA for having the foresight and staying power to provide a complete program that can produce not only success, but also educated success.

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/black-diamond-why-american-aerials-globes-are-truly-on-top-this-year/feed/0US aerialists close out 2015 season with victories and titleshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-aerialists-close-out-2015-season-with-victories-and-titles/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-aerialists-close-out-2015-season-with-victories-and-titles/#commentsMon, 02 Mar 2015 19:13:06 +0000http://www.skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=35196MINSK, Belarus – The U.S. aerials team closed out the 2015 season on a high note, with Ashley Caldwell jumping to her second World Cup win of the season and Mac Bohonnon and Kiley McKinnon taking season titles. Bohonnon and McKinnon formally claimed their positions as the number one aerialists in the world, bringing home both men’s and women’s overall titles and crystal globes for the first time ever in U.S. history.

After putting up scores in the 80s in qualification and final number one, Caldwell bumped things up a notch in final number two, posting a 99.68 on her triple-twisting triple flip, 14 points higher than McKinnon’s second place score.

“We only jumped one day here before the contest day today, and I hadn’t done any triples at all, so I was kind of nervous” said Caldwell. “I went up and the first jump I did was nasty. But then the rest of the day I was just ripping into jumps and going big.”

It was Caldwell’s second World Cup win of the season, moving her into second position in the overall World Cup standings behind McKinnon.

“This is probably the most decorated season for U.S. aerials, it was incredible,” said Caldwell. “Not only were we winning all over the place, but our team is just having such a great time together. I’m so stoked after this season.”

McKinnon, who has been no stranger to the World Cup podium this season, executed a full, double full, her first one of the week, to land in second place.

“Tonight was the same plan as all my other World Cups,” said McKinnon. “I did full, full for my qualification and final one jump, and then did full, double full for the super final. The conditions were way better than we were expecting. Staff worked really hard to keep the site up to par and it ended up being a really awesome event.”

McKinnon’s crystal globe is the first for a U.S. woman since Nikki Stone brought home the title in 1998.

“It’s kind of hard to describe what just happened,” said McKinnon. “It’s been so long since a U.S. woman has gotten this globe. It just makes me feel so honored to represent the U.S.”

Coming off of his first two World Cup wins in Lake Placid and Moscow, the momentum was high for Bohonnon coming in to Minsk, and his performance did not disappoint.

“Unfortunately I did know how close I was to winning the globe, so I was pretty stressed out all day and just tried to eliminate that from my head,” said Bohonnon. “We only had one day of training and got used to it quick and had a good day. I’m psyched to get another podium.”

Bohonnon’s crystal globe is the first for the U.S. men since 2005 when Jeret ‘Speedy’ Peterson brought home the title.

“To win a globe is a dream come true,” said Bohonnon. “I’ve been thinking about it for a really long time. And to do it 10 years after Speedy did it feels really special. He was a huge influence on me and motivated me to get in to the sport of aerials.”

Jon Lillis and Eric Loughran finished ninth and 10th, rounding out the top-10 finishes for the U.S. men. Mike Rossi finished 17th.

In addition to the aerials World Cup globes, the Nations Cup and Rookie of the Year title were also awarded to the U.S., with World Championship silver medalist Alex Bowen taking home the rookie title. Bowen has two top-10 World Cup finishes this season in addition to his silver medal at the World Championships, where he landed his first double full, full, full on snow.

“In the coaches meeting, they characterized Bowen as an athlete that really wows the rest of the coaches on tour,” said head coach Todd Ossian. “Alex certainly did that at World Championships, but he also did it at many events where he jumped really well. Before this season, people didn’t know who Alex Bowen was. Now he has all of the coaches on tour watching him closely.”

The multiple awards received at World Cup finals solidifies the U.S. aerials team as a rising power in the sport.

“We feel on top of the world right now,” said Ossian. “We are incredibly proud of our team. We still have a super young team and these guys are all getting better. To finish number one in the world as a team, it means a ton and it gives us even more motivation to work harder and do everything we can do to not just stay the best but to improve on our season.”

The team’s stars are products of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s Elite Aerial Development Program started in 2008 to seek new athletes and compete more effectively against rising powers like China. Much of the team’s success is attributed to its unique summer training water ramps in both Lake Placid, NY and Park City, UT. The Park City facility at the Utah Olympic Park is presently undergoing a sophisticated renovation, the Big Air Project, to provide an even more valuable training facility for athletes.

Release courtesy of USSA

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http://www.skiracing.com/stories/us-aerialists-close-out-2015-season-with-victories-and-titles/feed/0Rahlves Banzai Tour takes on Alpine Meadowshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/rahlves-banzai-tour-takes-on-alpine-meadows/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/rahlves-banzai-tour-takes-on-alpine-meadows/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 18:16:57 +0000http://www.skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=35067This past Sunday was packed with adrenaline-fueled action as the top 16 skiers and snowboarders raced down the extremely icy and windy Face Banzai at Alpine Meadows for a spot in the Rahlves Banzai Tour (RBT) finals. Earlier in the morning, 60 mile per hour East winds forced Alpine Meadows to put its upper mountain chairs on hold.

Thankfully, the resourcefulness, commitment, and enthusiasm from the Alpine Meadows and RBT crews made it happen. Because of the high winds, RBT was forced to improvise a start mid-way down Wolverine. With no way of moving the start gate down, Daron Rahlves came up with the impromptu idea to have a good old fashion “kick-start” where racers all face sideways on the mountain and then make a 90 degree hop-turn and sprint for the GoPro HoleShot.

Highlights of the day were a return from Casey Riva (Denver, Colo.) in Men’s Ski putting the pressure on 2014 Champ Kyle Coxon, with Shawn McGee and Ben Paciotti in a tight battle for the podium. In Men’s Snowboard, the “never give up approach” to make all the gates by Bobby Minghini enabled him to take the win ahead of smooth French rider Sylvain Duclos and 2014 Champ Jayson Hale. South Lake Tahoe local Dillon Candelaria rounded out the final in fourth. Shannon Rahlves and Shelly Robertson’s battle continued from last year with a final run of multiple passes and a close finish with Caite Zeliff skiing all over Shelly on the top half of the course and Alexis Machovsky flying right behind them.Women SNB reigning champ Audrey Hebert continued her success with Mariah Dugan, Lindsay Wexler and Erika Vikander all riding great in these extreme conditions.

With Kyle “Big Swinging” Coxon’s win, he secured the first spot in the Men Ski Super Final against Daron Rahlves for a winner takes all one run for the “Banzai Master” title and $5,000. The show down will take place March 15 at Sugar Bowl’s “Silver Belt Banzai”. Who’s next? There will be three Men Skiers who get in the gate with Rahlves and the next two spots will be earned with a win at Kirkwood March 8 and Sugar Bowl March 15.

“From Alpine Meadows to the athletes, everyone was on edge and a little scared of the snow conditions this weekend for the Face Banzai. Rough as it was, it’s not anything unusual, but this time taken to the next level like a water injected World Cup hill would be,” said Rahlves. “Mother Nature created a bulletproof and slick surface with massive bumps that forced the competitors to attack with calculated risk and an all out fight. It was intense. I’m proud of all the competitors and very thankful to Alpine Meadows and my event crew for putting the effort in and trusting our course set and the skills of our competitors for a successful and safe competition.”

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/rahlves-banzai-tour-takes-on-alpine-meadows/feed/0VIDEO: Red Bull ski race behind motorcycleshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-red-bull-ski-race-behind-motorcycles/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-red-bull-ski-race-behind-motorcycles/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 13:15:41 +0000http://www.skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=35060The 2015 Red Bull Twitch ‘n’ Ride skijouring competition took place in the Latvian medieval town of Cesis and gathered almost 300 truly reckless race participants. Getting pulled behind a motorcycle on skis is hard enough, but add the difficulty level of this expert track, and then you really have a party. Mixing motorcycles and ski racing – what could possibly go wrong? Crashing was imminent, but the glory lasts forever… we presume.

Video courtesy of Red Bull

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/video-red-bull-ski-race-behind-motorcycles/feed/0Former ski racer Smaine wins halfpipe gold at World Champshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/former-ski-racer-smaine-wins-halfpipe-gold-at-world-champs/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/former-ski-racer-smaine-wins-halfpipe-gold-at-world-champs/#commentsFri, 23 Jan 2015 03:21:05 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=34225South Lake Tahoe’s Kyle Smaine has two different FIS biographies for a very good reason. The former ski racer, who grew up ripping through courses all over the West, transitioned to competing in halfpipe, slopestyle, and ski cross in the spring of 2008 and hasn’t looked back since.

In Kreischberg, Austria, on Thursday, the now 23-year-old Smaine dominated the halfpipe competition to earn his first World Championships title. Smaine led the competition from start to finish, earning the top spot in Wednesday’s qualifiers and putting down an unbeatable first run in the night final that would ultimately earn him the gold. While Smaine was the obvious winner on the night, silver medalist Joffrey Pollet-Villard of France took home the honor of crowd favorite with huge amplitude and an alley-oop flat 540. Bronze went to Switzerland’s Yannic Lerjen who bumped Vail’s Broby Leeds off the podium on his third and final run.

“Qualified first for finals at World Championships! Stoked to ski under the lights again tomorrow!” the always enthusiastic Smaine posted on Facebook prior to Thursday. He followed it up with an appropriate declaration, “So happy to be the 2015 World Champion.”

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/former-ski-racer-smaine-wins-halfpipe-gold-at-world-champs/feed/0Kearney wins duals gold at World Championships for first timehttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/kearney-wins-duals-gold-at-world-championships-for-first-time/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/kearney-wins-duals-gold-at-world-championships-for-first-time/#commentsTue, 20 Jan 2015 13:04:24 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=34169KREISCHBERG, Austria – Olympic champion Hannah Kearney stepped it up another notch on Monday, taking gold in dual moguls in a thrilling finals matchup against Canadian Justine Dufour-Lapointe. It was Kearney’s eighth career World Championships medal, the most ever of any freestyle skier.

After skiing to a silver medal in the single moguls competition, Kearney reviewed her performance and set tactical goals for the duals competition.

“I had it as my goal to win the qualifying runs so I would have my pick of the course,” said Kearney. “It helps you focus because you only have to look at one side of the course. I also went to a helicopter on the bottom air instead of a heli mute grab because it allowed me to ski a little bit faster and have a better landing.”

Dufour-Lapointe finished second and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Galysheva was third.

USSA President and CEO Tiger Shaw, who has known Kearney for years, was also thrilled with the result.

“This is incredible. For Hannah, this makes her the most decorate freestyle skier as far as World Championships go,” said Shaw. “I’ve known Hannah a long time and to see her pull this off and make this achievement is amazing.”

The U.S. men battled it out against a tough line up of Canadian skiers, but were unable to find the podium.

“Sho (Kashima) showed up this morning and he was ready to charge. He carried through the whole day,” said head moguls coach Garth Hager. “When he’s on, he’s a performer and he’s hard to beat. Unfortunately he a had a little mishap when he switched courses. He got behind out of the gate and had to push speed, and it got too fast for him.”

Coming into Kreischberg, Kearney had not yet captured a World Championships win in the duals competition. She now has that golden snowflake and a new record on her resume.

“It’s really cool. It’s a testament to my strength over a long period of time,” said Kearney. “It was ten years ago that I got my first World Championships medal, and to continue to come back and fight and walk away with eight medals—three gold—that’s a nice necklace.”

From qualifications through the finals rounds, Kearney improved every run – but Dufour-Lapointe was there to respond.

“Today, my last run was my best run,” said Kearney. “I made the improvements I wanted but Justine beat me. And that happens – that’s moguls skiing. That’s why competition is fun, and I’m glad we’ll get to ski again tomorrow.”

Deneen also improved with each run and was fastest in the final run. But a slight twist on his final jump cost him a narrow margin and kept him out of the medals.

“Pat’s final run was s best run – he had the best exit out of the top for hm and the tallest position through the middle section,” said U.S. Ski Team moguls head coach Garth Hager. “On the bottom jump he got a little twisted and that got him a small dedication. And he got the fastest time but speed doesn’t get rewarded as much as it used to. That needs to be adjusted in the future to keep our sport progressive.”

With the silver, Kearney moved into a tie with Norway’s Kari Traa for the most World Championship medals at seven. Kearney will have an opportunity to gain an eighth in the dual moguls event on Monday.

Release courtesy of USSA

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/kearney-wins-silver-medal-at-world-championships/feed/0McKinnon and Bowen team up on World Champs silvershttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/mckinnon-and-bowen-team-up-on-world-champs-silvers/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/mckinnon-and-bowen-team-up-on-world-champs-silvers/#commentsFri, 16 Jan 2015 08:47:43 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=34043KREISCHBERG, Austria – Less than a month after landing on her first World Cup podium in Beijing, U.S. Ski Team aerialist Kiley McKinnon found herself with a World Championships silver medal in Kreischberg, Austria. McKinnon joined teammate Alex Bowen as the U.S. Freestyle Team swept silver across both genders for the team’s first medals since 2009.

Australia’s Laura Peel took gold while China’s Mengtau Xu won bronze in the women’s event.

McKinnon stayed true to her lean and clean style, advancing systematically through the rounds. Her silver medal jump was a full, double full – two flips with a twist on the second. While her degree of difficulty wasn’t the highest of the day, she skied each jump cleanly and came out with a medal.

“This is amazing,” she said in the finish. “I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go because I thought I would have to throw a new trick. But I was able to make it to the super-final without it.”

With a strong qualifying effort on Wednesday, McKinnon gained an advantage in being able to jump late in the first round. “Kiley’s been jumping great all week,” said aerials head coach Todd Ossian. “But there’s a lot of strategy in this new format. Fortunately Kiley qualified high and it put her in a position where she could watch other jumpers and see what the scores were.”

McKinnon took advantage of that strategy in the second of three rounds, going with her lowest degree of difficulty trick, a lay, full, and came out fifth in the semi-final with six advancing to the super-final. Her clean full, double full put her into the early lead until Peel matched her trick with a double full, full – edging into the lead by .35. Xu went for a triple and touched down, dropping her into third. Ashley Caldwell also went with a triple, but failed to land cleanly and finished just out of the medals.

Alex Bowen used the FIS Freestyle World Championships as a proving ground, landing a triple flip he had never done on snow and taking home a silver medal.

China’s Guangpu Qi took the gold in the men’s event with a massive 139.50 score on a quintuple-twisting triple, defending his 2013 World Championship title and partially avenging his fourth in Sochi. Bowen was second in a career best 121.27. Maxim Gustik of Belarus was third.

“This is totally unexpected,” said Bowen. “My double full, full, full was the first one I’ve ever done on snow. It was the best jump of the day.”

It was a strong day for the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team with three men and two women qualifying into the three-heat finals. After nailing his triple flip, teammates Mike Rossi and Caldwell were the first to reach Bowen – hugging him hard in the finish, knowing that his jump had a great chance of holding up for a medal.

“I couldn’t have done it without the support of my teammates,” he said. “Without them and the coaches, it wouldn’t have been the same event for me.”

Bowen qualified fifth on Wednesday and nearly dropped out in the first of three finals heats, but snuck in at ninth. And it was a pivotal decision that worked out for him in the end as he decided to go full, full, full – not his highest degree of difficulty – opting to save his best for last.

“The guys’ degree of difficulty was so high in the first round, it was risky for any of the guys to do full, full, full and counting on other people to make a mistake,” said aerials head coach Todd Ossian. “But it ended up being a good move for him. He put himself in a position at the end to win.”

He made it into the super-final with a full, double full, full netting a 115 point score. He switched it up with his higher degree of difficulty triple in the super-final, landing it clean and knowing he had a shot. Only Qi was able to top him.

Moguls get underway on Sunday at the World Championships. Aerialists are back in action at the Putnam Lake Placid Freestyle Cup Jan. 30-31.

Release courtesy of USSA

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/mckinnon-and-bowen-team-up-on-world-champs-silvers/feed/0Oakley takes first career winhttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/oakley-takes-first-career-win/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/oakley-takes-first-career-win/#commentsSat, 10 Jan 2015 19:50:27 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=33789Moguls veteran K.C. Oakley started her day by learning she was going to World Championships next week. It ended with her career-first World Cup win, throwing down a stunning run to upset Canada’s Dufour-Lapointe sisters with a huge three-point victory in front of a packed hometown crowd at Deer Valley Resort. Patrick Deneen scored his first podium of the season finishing third behind Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury.

“This is just so fun,” said Oakley. “I’m really just weirded out right now, not too sure about what’s going on, but it’s awesome. I just got told I was going to Worlds yesterday, so this has been a great couple days. I’m processing it still, and we still have one more day of competition, so maybe things can get even better!”

A four-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team, Oakley had only one previous podium – a third from 2012 in Calgary. She missed the Sochi Olympics with an injury and then dislocated her ankle in a freak accident in the spring, but has come back strong this season.

“Coming back from injury, it was just about getting back out there. I love this course, especially at night. I know speed is always on my side, so I went for it. My runs weren’t perfectly clean, but I just went for speed and it worked out,” said Oakley.

Oakley was second in the first round of finals behind Justine Dufour-Lapointe to make it into the round of six. Saving her best for last, she skied the fastest run of the day, also winning on turns and air, to take a strong three-point margin over the Canadian, capping it off with a massive back layout off the bottom air.

Deneen broke onto the podium with a strong, fast run, but was unable to knock of Kingsbury and second place Matt Graham of Australia.

“It feels awesome to be part of what has been a very successful weekend for the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team,” said Deneen. “Any time you’re at Deer Valley and can get on the podium, it’s an incredible feeling. We had a big crowd tonight and it’s fun to ski in front of that many people.”

Hannah Kearney, who has dominated on the Deer Valley hill, went off course on the top jump in her qualifying round and failed to make it into the finals. She dropped from the World Cup lead to third in the standings.

The U.S. women had an additional six finish in the top 20, with Morgan Schild in only her second World Cup finishing eighth. Ali Kariotis was 13th, Mikaela Matthews 15th, Keaton McCargo 17th, Sophia Schwartz 18th, and Nessa Dziemian 19th.

The men ended the evening with four in the top-10, including Deneen. Sho Kashima finished fifth, Bryon Wilson ninth, and Troy Murphy 10th.

“Tonight we saw some really nice results from our younger skiers with expected results from some of our veterans. Overall it was a great night for the team and we are looking forward to duals tomorrow,” said moguls coach Matt Gnoza.

The event wraps up Saturday night with dual moguls.

Release courtesy of USSA

]]>http://www.skiracing.com/stories/oakley-takes-first-career-win/feed/0Historic 1-2 for US aerialistshttp://www.skiracing.com/stories/historic-1-2-for-us-aerialists/
http://www.skiracing.com/stories/historic-1-2-for-us-aerialists/#commentsFri, 09 Jan 2015 16:00:39 +0000http://skiracing.com/?post_type=stories&p=33771PARK CITY, Utah – In her first win in four years, Ashley Caldwell lit up the sky with a pair of triple flips, joining teammate Kiley McKinnon in the first 1-2 finish for the U.S. women in aerials in 26 years. Mac Bohonnon notched his second podium of the season, finishing second to a record-setting 138.50 point total set by China’s Guangpu Qi.

Caldwell, a two-time Olympian at just 21 years old, was beaming after finding her way to the top after an excruciating two-year battle back from knee injuries. She did it in style – the only woman in the field to throw two triple flips. McKinnon, meanwhile came in with a pair of very clean doubles to take her third podium of the season — the only three of her career – and moved within two points of the World Cup aerials lead.

At one of the most popular venues in aerials, Caldwell enjoyed the benefit of home snow advantage and risked the higher degree of difficulty triple flips to give her the winning score.

“This is the first time I’ve ever done lay double full full in contest and only the second time I’ve done full full full in contest, and the first time doing them together,” said Caldwell. “It’s really exciting for it to pay off.”

It was an important win for Caldwell, who suffered several injuries in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. It was her second career World Cup win, but first since Lake Placid in 2011.

Bohonnon, who was on the podium in China before Christmas, put down a 128.51 on his final jump that could easily have won had it not been for the astounding performance of Qi.

“We’ve been training for so long for this,” said Bohonnon. “We’ve got a really young team, but an incredibly talented team. To get three podiums in one night and do that in front of a hometown crowd is just unbelievable.”

All three athletes are products of the Team’s Elite Aerial Development Program, developed in the mid-2000s to introduce acrobatic athletes to freestyle aerials skiing. Caldwell was the first to breakthrough from the program, with Bohonnon and McKinnon each now with three career podiums.

The team dynamic has been amazing. Everyone is working really hard, working well together and supporting each other,” said aerials head coach Todd Ossian. “When there is a strong team, that dynamic always seems to be there, and it’s certainly there right now.”

The aerialists depart Friday for the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Kreischberg, Austria, with training beginning Monday.